The Puranas (Puranic texts or literature) are narrative works
concerning ancient Hindu kings, sages, heroes, and the gods. The term Purana
literally means "something that is old." There are eighteen major
Puranas, eighteen minor ones, and a host of related appearing from 300 to
1200 AD. The material within the Puranas is called "tradition"
because it supposedly originated in pre-Vedic
times, except for the few Puranas mentioned in the Vedas, being handed down
by word of mouth from teacher to student, or priest to disciple. The original
stories, legends, and myths were considerably altered in the course of transmission,
being shaped by the brahmin redactors for their own purposes to illustrate
the themes important to the priestly caste. Nonetheless, much non-Vedic
material has been retained. Two of the great Hindu epics, Ramayana
andMahabharata,
are also known as Puranas. Most of the works are concerned with the gods
Shiva and Vishnu and have much to
do with their cults in medieval India. These works serve to form sort of
a biblos of modern Hinduism, in their synthesis
of legend and myth emerging from the submerged masses to mingle with priestly
teachings about ritual, theology, and philosophical speculation, all told
against the background of the public and private lives of deities and kings
in their wars, loves, and even sexual exploits. The Puranas were recited
to large popular audiences, portions of them being read, chanted, or acted
in temples to the accompaniment of song and music. A.G.H.

Source:

Rice, Edward, Eastern Definitions: A Short Encyclopedia of
Religions of the Orient, Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1978, p.
286